Supporting language revitalization of Great Basin indigenous language through archival materials: A catalogue of language records at the UNR Special Collections.

Abstract

Language revitalization is the process of reviving dormant or endangered languages. Four major Great Basin indigenous languages - Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute, Washoe and Shoshone - are among these endangered languages and are understudied and under documented. The purpose of this project was to catalogue the availability of linguistic information about these languages in the University of Nevada, Reno Special Collections. To do this, I spent time in the university archives researching all available materials and cataloguing relevant information. A majority of my findings were cultural materials rather than linguistic. My conclusions augment the overall project of language revitalization as they exemplify the need for a balance of cultural and linguistic resources in order to adequately represent the Great Basin languages.